6. Recognised Actors
This is the first time that A-List actors such as Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe have been utilised to their full degree in-game. Although weve had motion-captured performances before, its a definite step-up to whats been done already, actually provoking questions around an actors performance in a game. Think about that for a moment, as even outside of the likes of Nolan North and Troy Baker becoming well-known names for their contributions as Uncharteds Nathan Drake or The Last of Us's Joel respectively, the fact we can have a discussion around a particular characters performance i.e. line delivery, script-handling, actual chemistry between characters, is a remarkable achievement. Now before I we get too carried away, Im not saying games should strive to be more like films," which is a common complaint levied at these kinds of titles, questioning why the likes of Cage dont just produce movies instead of games. I will always say games should be able to stand on their own, but emerging art forms have always taken liberally from the established mediums of yesteryear and built from them, and with the evolution of video games comes the inevitable comparison to the nearest visual accompaniment. Yet with the injection of gameplay elements that change how the experience plays out, it still remains a game through and through.